Disposable receivers



Oct. 16, 1956 J. 5. WALLACE DISPOSABLE RECEIVERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 23, 1952 INVENTOR. M1 455 5' M/AZAACE A rroeA/' f Oct. 16, 1956 J. s. WALLACE DISPOSABLE RECEIVERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1952 INVENTOR. Ji l/4E5 5 1444114405 A r TUBA/5V5 United States Patent DISPOSABLE James S. Wallace, Seattle, Wash.

Application September 23, 1952, Serial No. 311,046

I 5 Claims. Cl. 229-621 This invention concerns a receiver for an article which is in itself not readily handled nor disposed of, whereby the article can be readily inserted within the receiver, and when received therein may be readily and conveniently handled and disposed of. Specifically the receiver has been devised for the purpose of receiving and disposing of used sanitary pads, and while it may be used for many and varied purposes, its structure and arrangement so eminently fits. it for that specific purpose that it will be described hereinafter as so designed and'used'.

The disposition of used sanitary pads. is a serious problem in all rest rooms open to the public, as in department stores, theatres, gasoline filling stations, railway stations and cars, etc. In such. places receptacles are provided wherein women are urgently requested to deposit such pads, but such receptacles themselves become fouled and their use becomes distasteful, the pads must of necessity be disposed of somehow and immediately, and as a result, or from outright disregard of the consequences of so doing, such used pads are thrown into the toilet bowls. They will quickly clog the plumbing, which results in appreciable and periodical expense, and as well is a further cause contributing to untidy and unsanitary conditions in such public rest rooms. The problem is less acute in private homes, for the trouble and expense of plumbing care falls upon the occupant, and he is more careful to avoid the same, and yet even in homes the disposal of such used sanitary pads constitutes a real problem.

The problem arises primarily from the reluctance of women to handle these pads to a greater degree or more firmly than is absolutely necessary, and from the inherently odorous nature of such pads, and their tendency to emanate such odor even when deposited within a closed receptacle, such as a covered metal can. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a receiver for a single used pad, so constructed and arranged that the pad can be initially deposited therein readily, but within "a of handling, can then be grasped and handled sufiiciently firmly and securely, but with an irnpervious film of material interposed between it and the persons fingers, and, so held, can be closedover and sealed with a minimum of etioit and with no contact with the pad itself, and so sealed against emission of odors or contact of the pad with a receptacle to foul the latter, can be deposited in a receptacle for ultimate collection and disposition.

'It is, of course, an object to provide a receiver of the nature. indicated which can be made of inexpensive material, so that item be destroyed with the pad which it contains, yet of material suited for use in the manner and to the ends indicated above.

A further object is to provide such a receiver that will lie fiat until it is to be used, of slight bulk and area, and so be suited for dispensing from a mechanical dispenser, yet which may be expanded readily in area and in volume to receive the fairly large bulk of the used pad.

Among other objects are: to form such a receiver in a shape that will best protect the users fingers and hands from unnecessary contact with the pad' during the operations of inserting the pad and of unfolding and sealing the receiver; to form the receiver in a shape that will facilitate engagement. of the fingers with it, even when only one hand is available; to form the receiver in an expandible shape, and yet of a shape to avoid constriction in one dimension While expanding it in another dimension; and to provide for such a receiver sealing means of such nature and so located that no sealing will be likely to occur prematurely, that is, until the envelope is fully open and extended and moreover, until the proper sealing folds have been made, but such that sealing will occur ahnost automatically when such extension and folding have occurred.

The invention comprises the novel receiver of the nature and for the purposes indicated, as shown in. a representative form in the accompanying drawings, and as will be more fully disclosed and claimed in thisspecification' and in the accompanying claims.

Figure 1 is an isometric view, with successive layers broken back, illustrating the receiver in the form in which it is supplied for use, and Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view through the same. In each such view the several layers are separated somewhat. for clearer illustrati'on, although in fact they would lie in contact'with one another.

Figure 3' is a transverse sectional view, similar to Figure 2, showing the first step preparatory to use of the the receiver, namely its engagement and lateral expansion. 7

To enable ready insertion of the users thumb and fingers between the cufi and the envelope proper, the cufi is shorter, or not so deep, as the envelope proper; see Figures 1 to 4.

Insertion of the thumb and fingers between the cuff and'the envelope proper causes some slight lateral expansion of the cuff, and itscorresponding longitudinal contraction, which is allowed for by making the-cuff slightly longer at its edge than the envelope proper; see Figure 1. Actually, it is preferred that the end edges 4 of the envelope proper converge slightly downwardly from the junction line 5 where the cuff joins the envelope proper. Such slight initial tensioning of the cult merely causes it to grip the inserted fingers to a slight degree, but suffieiently that the article is manageable. Immediately the fingers are so inserted they are spread apart, in the manner shown in Figure 3. The cuff 2 is thus further contracted longitudinally, and as it draws inwardly against the ends 4 of the envelope proper this envelope is also contracted longitudinally, the while it expands laterally. It-s lateral expansion is facilitated, also, by the inverted reentrant tuck 3 in its bottom. It should be understood that this tuckis closed at its ends, and in the preferred construction its ends are heat-seamed within the seem that forms the ends 4.

The receiver-is made of a flexible, impervious material, of which many plastics are typical; Pliofilm, a synthetic rubber plastic film, is particularly suitable. Transparency s not essential, but is helpful. Pigmentation is likewise immaterial, although a reddish color is desirable, the better to conceal any discoloration of the pad.

As will by now be obvious, such receivers can be dispense'd in publidrest rooms, and an initially flat receiver is supported as in Figure 3 upon the users fingers and thumb of the left hand, and spreadlopen. The used sanita'ry pad, folded once, can be grasped lightly by jone cornerin the users right hand, and inserted withinthe open receiver, as inFigure 4, Whereuponthe left hand can grasp it more securely, through thesidelwalls of the receiver. Now the cuff 2 is unfolded,,to liein prolongation of the envelop proper 1, and, Figure 5 showsthe unfolding. nearly completed. In unfolding the user need never contact the pad. Whencompleted there remains only to seal the open edge of the receiver.

f 'The preferred sealing means comprisestwocomple- 'mental strips of adhesive of the self-adhering type, properly located. .Such adhesive is known,-.and commercially available. One such strip 6is' applied to and extends along and close to the open edge of the receiver, in that portion that constitutes the cuff 2, and upon that face which is concealed when the cuff is folded down, in the initial position shown in Figures 1 to 4. The second such strip 7 extends along the opposite cufi side, likewise upon the concealed face, but is spaced from the open edge by a distance approximately twice the width of the strip 6. As a result, when the unfolded cuff 2 is folded, much as a druggist folds the edges of 'a paper wrapper about an articlethe first fold is shown in Figure 6 and a second fold in Figure 7the strips 6 and 7 come into contact and immediately adhere one to the other to complete and retain a seal. Being adhesive of the type that will adhere only to itself, neither strip ,6 nor 7 will adhere to the users fingers in the preliminary operations, and since the end 2 is shorter than the envelop proper 1 they are always separated by but will notadhere to the latter, and in addition are relatively displaced vertically, hence can not come into mutual contact while in the flat condition.

1 I claim as my invention:

1. A receiver for the purpose indicated, comprising an envelop of impervious flexible material, open along one edge only, with its open edge portion folded back exteriorly of the envelop proper, as a cufi, to a depth'slightly less than the depth of the envelop proper, to leave a shallow, elongated receptacle of no inherent breadth, the end edges of the envelop proper converging from such line of fold, the closed bottom of the envelop being formed with an' inverted tuck which is laterally expansible to afiord such breadth by the fingers and thumb of the users hand, inserted at opposite sides of the envelop proper within the cuff folds, and sealing means for the open edge comprising two strips of adhesive of the mutually selfadhering type, such as will not ordinarily adhere to other material, one strip being located close to, and along one edge of the cufi at the face thereof which faces the envelop proper, and the other strip being located along the opposite edge of the cuff, also at the face thereof which faces the envelop proper, but spaced from such opposite edge by approximately double the width of the first'such strip, whereby the two contact and adhere to one another when the cuff is extended in prolongation of the envelop proper, and said edges are folded over one another.

2. A receiver for the purposeindicated, comprising an "envelop of impervious flexible material, open along one opposite sides of the envelop proper within the cuff folds,

and means along the two sides of the open edge interengageable to seal the envelop following insertion of the contents and unfolding of thecuflf. p

3. A receiver for the purpose indicated, comprising an envelop of impervious flexible material, open along one edge only, approximately square whenunfolded but supplied for use with its open edge folded back'exteriorly as a cufi, along a line of fold located approximately midway between the bottom edge and the open edge, to leave the envelop proper in the form of a shallow,'elon'- gated receptacle of no inherent breadth, the closed bottom being formed with an inverted tuck which is laterally expansible to afford appreciable breadth by the fingers and thumb of the users hand, inserted at opposite sides of the envelop proper within the cuff folds, and sealing means along the two sides of the open edge interengageable to' seal the envelop following insertion of the contents and unfolding of the cuff.

4. A receiver of the kind defined in claim 3, wherein the sealing means for the open edge comprise two strips of adhesive of the mutually self-adhering type, such as. will not ordinarily adhere to other material, one strip being located close to and along one edge of the. cufi at the face thereof which faces the envelop proper, and the other strip being located along the opposite edge. of the cuff, also atYthe face thereof which faces the envelop proper, but spaced from such opposite edge by approximately double thewidth of the first such strip, whereby the two will contact and adhere to one another when the cuff is extended in prolongation ,of the envelop proper, andsaid edges are folded over one another.

5. A receiver for the purpose indicated, comprising an envelop ofimpervious flexible material, open along one edge only, approximately square when unfolded but supplied for use with its open edge folded back exteriorly as a cuff, along a line of fold located approximately midway between the bottom edge and the 'open edge, to

leave the envelop proper in the form of a shallow, elon:

gated receptacle of no inherent breadth, said receptacle capable of lateral expansion to afford appreciable breadth by the fingers and thumb of the users hand, inserted at opposite sides of the envelop proper within the cuff folds,

and means along the sides of the cufi portion interen'g ageable to seal the envelop following insertion of the contents and unfolding of the cuff. 

